


Training the Inhuman

by Goodnightwife



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Cannon typical fighting, F/M, Fluff, Short Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2019-10-22 23:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17672486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goodnightwife/pseuds/Goodnightwife
Summary: Reader is an inhuman with powers that are still manifesting. The only thing the Avengers know is that Y/N is a valuable member of the team for whom they will do anything to protect. Bucky’s heart may hang in the balance as HYDRA tries to take the newest Avenger.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on my Tumblr in 2017 as a series of drabbles. This is a rewrite while I try to get my writing mojo back. Stress is a mojo killer.

Steve Rogers walked into the training room expecting to have a normal training session with Bucky and Y/N. It was just Tuesday, there were no missions on the horizon, it was just a normal day. Steve liked the normal days that they had at the compound, it made everything else in their life seem a little less stressful and it helped the group feel more like a family.

Bucky and Y/N were already there and Bucky was teaching Y/N how to fall without hurting herself. She had only been a part of the Avengers for a couple months and was still learning some of the basics. A fast learner, she had already mastered every weapon they gave her. She could shoot as well as Bucky could. She was an inhuman, although her powers were still unstable and she hadn’t learned how to completely control them. Bruce was still learning exactly what she could do. Every day she surprised them with something new.

Fury thought Y/N would be a good addition to the team and Steve agreed. They didn't typically bring people in off the streets, people with absolutely no experience whatsoever, but Y/N was an exception. Bruce wasn't sure if it was her powers or just natural ability, but Y/N learned everything incredibly quickly. Almost mastering a skill in the first session of training. Clint put a bow in her hands, showed her how to shoot, and then sat back with a soda and watched her hit every single target, some without even looking. She was plucky and Steve liked that about her.

Watching Bucky toss Y/N onto the mat as if she weighed nothing, Steve smiled at how gentle he was with her. If height could be considered a drawback, that would be her only "flaw". She was small, only 5 feet, but strong and fast. She evaded most physical attacks with ease, mostly by diving between people’s legs. Bucky and Steve had caught onto her tactics and could now easily grab her ankle and dangle her upside down like a toddler. She hated that but her anger seemed to be necessary to evoke her powers. Steve smiled to himself, thinking of how much he used to have that same anger. 

“Alright, Y/N,” Steve stepped onto the mat. “It looks like you’ve learned how to fall without breaking anything, let’s move on to fighting.”

“Okay,” Y/N’s face a was a little red from being thrown around, Bucky just looked amused. He always had a little half grin when Y/N was around, as if her very presence amused him.

Steve positioned himself in front of Y/N while Bucky stepped to the side. Teaching her to throw a few punches confirmed Steve’s suspicion that Y/N’s reach didn’t extend much further beyond his chest. To expect her to punch someone in the face would require a step stool. After 30 minutes of getting punched in the gut, Steve switched with Bucky. Bucky taught her a few punch combinations with some kicks, but her reach still didn’t get much higher than his chest.

“Come on, Y/N,” Bucky teased, “can’t you reach me? Maybe you need to grow some more? Are you even an adult?”

Y/N’s face turned red as her anger rose, “Be careful, Buck, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t think you could hurt me if you tried, lil’ one,” Bucky laughed as he effortlessly blocked her small hand as she threw another punch and simply tossed her to the side of the mat. As Y/N slowly stood, her eyes started turning an eerie silver and her hair quickly followed suit as her power rose within her. Her hands by her sides, she walked in front of Bucky, her hair moving as if a breeze had picked up in the training room.

“Grow? See if this is big enough for you,” even her voice sounded silver and distinctly other. She raised one hand toward Bucky and he flew back and landed hard on the mat. All the heavy equipment behind him also flew back and slammed against the wall, shattering a mirror.

“Y/N!” Steve called, stepping forward. “Control it.” She turned to him and the silver slowly began to fade from her eyes and hair. Steve reached for her but she backed away.

“Don’t touch me yet, I don’t want to hurt you Steve,” Y/N stepped back and wrapped her arms around her middle, taking deep breaths and waiting until the power inside her abated. Once her hair and eyes were back to their normal color, she ran to Bucky, who still hadn’t moved.

“Are you okay, Buck? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” she knelt next to him and pulled his head into her lap. She ran her hands down his arms and over his chest, looking for an injuries. He opened his eyes and grinned.

“That was awesome, Y/N!” Bucky howled. She dropped his head hard on the mat, disgusted with his antics. “Hey, ow! Come on, I was just kidding," he called after her as she walked away.

“Steve, I need to check in with Bruce, he wanted to run some scans after my powers resurfaced. I’ll see you and macho man over there later.” Y/N gathered her stuff and left the two super soldiers staring after her. Bucky’s grin never wavered as he pulled himself to his feet and began pulling the heavy gym equipment back into place. Steve began to wonder just what they had gotten themselves into with her.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Y/N found Bruce in his lab, eyes squinting at a computer monitor in deep concentration.

“Hey, Dr. Banner,” she said softly, not wanting to jar him out of his thoughts. It didn’t work, he still jumped.

“Oh, Y/N, hey, what can I do for you?” he adjusted his glasses as he looked up from his seat and gave her a small smile.

“You told me to come to you when my powers resurface, and they just put a show on in the training room with Steve and Bucky. You can check the security footage,” Y/N plopped down in the nearest chair and waited as he pulled up the camera footage.

“Wow,” he said after a moment. “Do you know how heavy that equipment is? I mean, that is a super soldier gym after all.”

“No, I don’t have a clue,” Y/N shrugged. Her concern at that moment had been Bucky, the equipment was just a casualty. Now she frowned, realizing that she hadn’t stuck around to help move it back.

“Huh, I’ll have to ask Steve what he estimates the weight as, it should be noted that as far as your powers were concerned right then, it might as well have been a leaf in the wind.” He crossed his arms over his chest and thoughtfully chewed on the end of one of the arms of his glasses.

“Well, I didn’t know if you wanted to scan me or something else sciency while I’m still freshly de-silvered. Have you figured out why I turn silver yet?” Y/N questioned, not that she minded. On the video she looked totally badass with flashing silver eyes and silver hair. It also looked kinda scary but being 5 feet tall made being scary every once in a while seem like a good thing. Bruce had been intrigued when Fury first sent the team video of Y/N in action but hadn’t yet discovered why she turned silver.

“No, that’s still a mystery. But yes, I want to run a scan,” Bruce walked around his desk and gestured her onto a bed in a glassed-off room to the side of his office. When she was settled, Bruce called out, “FRIDAY, full body scan of Y/N please.” A brief light ran from Y/N’s head to her toes and then FRIDAY announced that the scan was complete.

“Oh, Y/N,” Bruce said as she hopped off the bed. “Tony wanted to see you in his lab. I’ll let you know when I have analyzed this data.”

“Alright, thanks, Dr. Banner,” Y/N waved and headed to Tony’s lab. As she neared the door, AC/DC blasted out into the hallway, clearly Tony was working. Y/N was tempted to come back later. Tony intimidated her sometimes, but she knew he would track her down later, so it was better to just get it over with. She really liked Tony, he was just intense sometimes and she didn’t know if he really knew her name, he only ever used nicknames for her.

Entering his lab was like stepping into the middle of a rock concert and was just as loud. Shouting his name did nothing. Y/N didn’t immediately see him amidst his many inventions, work tables and half completed machines. Her favorite machine, the one free-standing arm that he called Dum-E, was hanging over a workbench not moving.

“FRIDAY, please turn the music down!” Y/N shouted, hoping the AI could hear her even though she could hardly hear herself. The guitar riff moved to a less eardrum bursting level and Tony’s dark head shot up from under one of many workbenches. Dum-E, not being able to move fast enough to get out of his way, bumped the top of his head.

“Oh, hey Shortstack!” He stood and turned to Dum-E, “You’re two seconds from being scrap.” He walked around the benches, tables, and machines to stand in front of Y/N.

“I’ve been waiting for you, where have you been?” he demanded, his eyes boring into Y/N’s.

“I was training with Steve and Bucky and then I went to see Dr. Banner,” Y/N explained, her hands twisting nervously behind her as she looked up into Tony’s oil-smudged face.

“I’ll forgive you for spending time with Brucie-bear, but Capsicle and the one-armed wonder, I expect better of you, Armrest,” he shook his head in disappointment.

“It’s not like I have options, it kinda comes with the job,” Y/N replied, getting annoyed with Tony already but still too intimidated to speak harshly.

“Yeahyeahyeah, okay look,” Tony’s fingertips met in front of his chest in a steeple. “I have something very important to talk to you about.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Do you want your uniform to be black or silver or both?” His eyes narrowed at her as if this were the most important test she could take to win his confidence.

“Ummm…. Both?” Y/N guessed, not being able to read him.

“I knew it!” His grin showed a perfect row of white teeth. “I’ve already had FRIDAY put it together for you, it’s over there.” He gestured to the left and Y/N saw a suit hanging in an empty bay at the end of a long line of Iron Man suits.

“Really?!” Y/N squealed as she ran over to inspect the outfit. “That’s awesome!” Lifting a hand, she touched the black leather highlighted with silver accents that matched the color her hair and eyes turned when she used her powers. “Tony this is perfect!”

“I know.” Y/N jumped at the sound of his voice over her head. He stood so much taller than her that even his voice towered over her. “Try it on, FRIDAY always gets measurements right but I want to show you its special features.”

“Oh um, okay…” Y/N grabbed the suit off the hanger and glanced around. “Where should I-”

“Oh yeah, over there in the corner, bathroom,” Tony gestured absentmindedly as he went back to whatever he had been working on. Y/N stepped into the tiny bathroom and slipped out of her yoga pants and t-shirt and into the tactical suit. It mimicked Natasha’s a little bit but was a little bit loser on Y/N, giving her full range of motion.  Y/N sighed in relief, she didn't think she had the body to pull off the skin-tight catsuit look that Natasha could.

“Well,” she said, stepping back into the lab. “What do you think?” She looked down at her legs, noting with relief that the suit wasn’t too long so she missed the look on Tony’s face when his head popped back up from tinkering with Dum-E. He had schooled his features by the time she looked into his face.

“It looks good, Pipsqueak,” he said flatly, stepping over to her. “Now, you’ve got all the usual accessories, hidden throwing knives, three gun holsters, pockets and all that. Nat can walk you through that stuff, it’s the same as her suit. But something special that only you have is this,” he pulled up her hand and showed her a tiny flash of silver around the cuff of the sleeve. It almost looked like he had a bracelet sown into the arm of the suit.

“What’s that?” Y/N questioned. “It’s pretty.”

“That is Bones,” Tony replied with a smirk, as if that explained everything.

“Excuse me?” Y/N replied.

“Bones. You’re a Trekkie, right?” Tony answered and then continued on at Y/N’s nod. “I installed your own AI. I’ve been experimenting with various ideas. Pete’s got one, I think he named it Karen or something like that. Barnes told me you were a fan of Star Trek so I just went with it.”

“I have my own AI?!” Y/N squealed, her smile spread wide across her face. “Wow, what can it do?”

“I can do everything FRIDAY can do, Ma’am,” a somewhat gruff but pleasant southern-accented male voice answered.

“Wow, how did you get it to sound like Karl Urban?” Y/N marveled.

“I’m very talented,” Tony smirked. “Now, Nat and Wanda said that they wanted to see the suit as soon as you were in it, I think they’re  in the common room. I”ll walk you through the rest of the features of the suit later if Nat hasn’t already filled you in.”

“Oh, okay,” Y/N turned to grab her discarded clothes but on second thought, turned quickly back to Tony and wrapper her arms around his waist in a quick but firm hug. “Tony, thanks for the suit and for Bones. I love it so much.”

“Sure thing, Kid,” Tony cleared his throat and croaked out. Y/N grabbed her clothes left the lab in search of Nat and Wanda. Tony blinked and shook his head. Bones would keep him and Bruce informed of everything that happens with Y/N while she wore the suit but Tony wanted further protection for her.

“FRIDAY, I need another Bones bracelet, something sleek and not too noticeable. Better make a necklace too,” Tony commanded as he stroked his chin and stared at the closed door that Y/N had just walked through. What was Fury’s plan with her? It nagged him as he tried to return to work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read this story on my Tumblr in 2017, we have just taken our first divergence from that original story line!


	3. Chapter 3

Y/N found Nat and Wanda in the kitchen. Wanda sat at the island while Nat leaned against the counter; both had cups of tea in their hands. Whatever conversation they were having halted when Y/N walked off into the room.   
  
“Hey Y/N,” Wanda greeted. “Oh wow, is that your new suit? That looks amazing!”  
  
“Yeah, Tony just gave it to me,” Y/N responded. “He hasn’t shown me what everything does yet though.”  
  
“Come here,” Nat motioned you over. “It looks a lot like mine, it might have some similar features.”  
  
Y/N stood in front of Nat and turned a couple of times so that Nat could get a good look at everything. She pointed out a few hidden pockets that were the same on her suits that FRIDAY made for her, but paused at a very slight unknown bulge on the back of Y/N’s belt.   
  
“I don’t know what this is,” Nat said, pointing at the small rectangular spot.  
  
“Huh,” Y/N said, twisting to try to see it. She paused with a smile. “I guess we could always ask. Bones, can you tell me what this thing is on the back of my belt?”  
  
“Yes ma’am, it is my interface that let’s me communicate with FRIDAY,” Bones’ pleasantly gruff voice filled the room.   
  
“What!?” Wanda jumped up. “You have an AI in your suit? And it talks to FRIDAY?” Wanda raised her eyebrows and waited for Y/N to come to her normal conclusion. Her natural suspicion didn’t let her be excited for long.  
  
“Wait…” Y/N paused. “Bones, why do you need to be able to talk to FRIDAY?”  
  
“Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner added the interface so that I can monitor your vital signs and perform full body scans when your power emerges so that they can better understand your powers and therefore help you hone your skills.” Bones’ explanation sounded a little rehearsed but Y/N didn’t see the harm in it, for now.  
  
“Alright, Bones,” Nat took over. “What exactly is the interface?”  
  
“It is a rectangular module roughly the size of three credit cards. It should not interfere with any maneuverability.”  
  
“Can it be removed from the belt and you still function?” Y/N asked.  
  
“Yes, but Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner will be automatically notified, I can’t stop that,” Bones reported very matter-of-factly.  
  
“Oooookay, can the belt be removed from the suit? Without notifying anyone?” Y/N tried again.  
  
“Yes ma’am,” Bones replied, his voice soft, as if trying to sooth Y/N’s nerves. The southern accent really did help with that, Y/N admitted to herself. Tony made a good choice.   
  
The kitchen was silent for a moment, each deep in their thoughts. Nat was wondering if Tony had hidden AI in any of her suits. Wanda was wondering why they were so interested in Y/N’s powers. Y/N was wondering if she should just call it a day and move back home. Director Fury would be upset but no one else would really miss her.  
  
“That’s not true,” Wanda said out loud. “We would all miss you very much.”  
  
“What?” Nat’s head shot up. “You’re not leaving, Y/N. Not over this. This might not be anything to worry about at all. The science boys might be honestly interested in the specifics of your powers to help you.”  
  
“Do you really think that’s all they want, Nat?” Y/N asked. “It seems unlikely. Tony always has ulterior motives.”  
  
“True,” Wanda started. “But maybe his motive here really is to help you. Bruce never has a hidden agenda. You could just ask him.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess. Either way, I’m going to get out of this suit for now.”  
  
“Wait,” Nat grabbed Y/N’s arm. “Before you do, lets see what it does when you use your powers.”  
  
“In the kitchen?” Y/N asked incredulously. “That’s a terrible idea.”  
  
“Not here, stupid, we’ll go outside and move cars around,” she responded with a wink.  
  
The three women went outside the compound and into the small field where someone had left a truck parked.  
  
“Alright, Y/N, make it happen,” Nat pointed at the truck.  
  
“I typically need to have some kind of emotional thing going on for my powers to come out,” Y/N hesitated. “Anger, fear, or something strong like that.”  
  
“Alright then, think about this,” Wanda began with a mischievous grin. Nat smirked, knowing the way Wanda’s mind worked. “Bucky and Sam both like you. A lot.”  
  
“WHAT?” Y/N turned just in time for her eyes and hair to turn silver and as she raised her hand toward the truck, her suit around her shoulders began to turn silver as well. The suit faded from black to silver all the way to her feet and the truck flew into the air, did five flips and landed on its side against the tree line. Y/N took a breath and looked down at her suit. She was a 5 foot tall, solid silver figure in the middle of a bright green field. She wished someone would take a picture so she could see if she looked as badass as she felt. She felt adrenaline coursing through her veins, although it was tempered with a healthy dose of fear of being liked by Bucky and Sam. That was just too much for Y/N to process. She started taking deep breaths to avoid a full blown panic attack.   
  
Nat and Wanda clapped and cheered as the silver in Y/N’s hair, eyes, and suit faded back to their normal colors. Y/N’s knees shook and buckled as she fell to the soft grass. Nat and Wanda knelt next to her.   
  
“Are you serious, Wanda? Please say no,” Y/N pleaded weakly.   
  
“She was very serious,” Nat answered. “And good luck with that mess! On another note, this might be the coolest suit FRIDAY has ever made!”  
  
“I’ll be sure to let FRIDAY know,” Bones answered, making Nat and Wanda chuckle. Y/N took more deep breaths and stared across the field. What on earth was she going to do with Bucky and Sam? This just couldn’t happen. Maybe leaving really was the best option. 


	4. Chapter 4

“Holy shit!” Sam’s voice sounded across the field. Nat, Wanda, and Y/N turned their heads to see Sam, Bucky, and Steve standing in the door of one of the garages. They had apparently seen Y/N make the truck fly across the field. Y/N groaned and the three women stood and began to walk across the field to meet the men.

Sam was still staring at Y/N as if he was seeing her for the first time when the women arrived at the garage. Bucky was smirking and Steve just looked a little worried. He seemed to always look that way at Y/N. 

“What are you staring at Sam?” Y/N asked. “You’ve seen my powers before.”

“I know but I’ve never seen you throw a truck! And the suit, that’s new, huh?” he eyed her up and down. 

“Yeah, it’s new, Tony just gave it to me today,” Y/N couldn’t help but blush a little under his gaze, making Bucky cut his eyes at Sam. 

“Well it looks amazing, Shortcake! And it turns silver with you! How does that even work?” Sam grabbed Y/N’s shoulders and turned her so that he could inspect her suit. 

“I don’t know,” Y/N gently shrugged Sam’s hands off of her shoulders, giving him a small smile. “I had better go see Tony and get the rest of the instructions on this thing before I set off some explosives or something. See y’all later.”

Y/N turned and forced herself to walk (not run) calmly away from the group of Avengers, hearing Nat’s low voice admonish Sam, “Way to go idiot, you embarrassed her.”

Y/N found Tony still in his lab and compared to the intense, staring eyes of Sam and Bucky, Tony was a welcome relief, even though he sometimes stared at her too.

“Hey Tony!” Y/N called when she came through the door of his lab.

“What’s up, Little Bit?” Tony’s voice came from the far corner, from under a shiny red car. Y/N was sure it cost more than her life savings, all of Tony’s cars did.

“Can you give me the rest of the skinny on this suit?” Y/N asked, sitting on the floor with her back against one of the tires. “I found Bones’ interface with FRIDAY already and Nat pointed out a few things, but what else am I missing?”

“Well,” Tony began, still under the car. “You know about Bones and if you found the interface then you know the most important parts already. Everything else is for weapons and hiding things in the off chance someone is ever able to capture you.”

“What’s the range for Bones to talk to FRIDAY?” Y/N asked, leaning her head back against the car, looking towards the ceiling. 

“It depends.” He started banging on something under the car. “If I’m around, FRIDAY goes wherever I am. If you’re alone, Bones can go about 3000 miles and still connect to the home database. He has limited capabilities past that distance.”

“3000 miles? That’s about from the East coast to the West coast, right?”

“Yep, across the country. Or wherever I am and 3000 miles from there.” Tony scooted out from under the car and sat up to face Y/N. “Why the concern about the range?”

“Just wondering I guess,” Y/N shrugged, looking down at her hands in her lap. “What if I do get captured and pulled across the world away from everyone? I was just kinda… counting my chickens before they hatch I guess.”

“Listen, kid,” Tony took one of Y/N’s hands in his. “I can’t promise you that you will never get hurt or captured in this business. All I can promise is that I will do everything I can to keep that from happening. Putting Bones in your suit and connecting him to FRIDAY is just one of the ways I can do that. Bones will work wherever you go, no matter where FRIDAY is, he just can’t communicate with her past 3000 miles.” He gave her hand a squeeze and released it. 

“Is there a way that I can have Bones with me all the time?” Y/N questioned softly. 

“As a matter of fact,” Tony grinned mischievously. “I’m having FRIDAY make you another bracelet that will have Bones’ interface. It should be ready in a couple of hours.”

“Thank you, Tony,” Y/N smiled up at him. Even sitting, he seemed to tower over her. Some people just did that, even if they weren’t too much taller than she. “How did you get my suit to change color with me? Even Sam was impressed!”

“Haha, impressing Flyboy is my goal in life! It’s a special fabric that changes based on certain elements within your skin. Kinda like a mood ring changes color with the heat of your hand.”

“But my skin doesn’t change color.”

“Something in it does. Bruce was able to isolate one element that changes. The suit just reacts to it. Tell Sam it’s magic though, I’m sure that’s good enough for him,” Tony grinned and stood up. Reaching a hand down, he easily pulled Y/N to her feet as well. 

“Thanks again Tony, I had better change and get dinner started, it’s my night to cook.”

“What are we having?”

“Are you actually going to show up this time?”

“Maybe. What’s it going to be?”

“Lasagna with salad and garlic bread?”

“I’m in.”

“Alright. Dining room, 2 hours.”

“Deal.”

Y/N left to go change out of her suit and Tony once again wondered at what Fury was doing pulling an innocent kid like Y/N into their dangerous world. He was going to be very mad if something happened to her. 

* * *

Dinner was a family affair. The group had their differences and plenty fights, but at the end of the day, they found that eating together helped maintain their cohesion as a group. Y/N’s cooking was a favorite of just about everyone. Sam and Bucky went on and on about it. Once everyone was around the table, conversation flowed around what the science bros were working on, what new trick Natasha wanted to show the girls, and what amazing feat of air-acrobatics that Sam achieved in a test flight with his new wings. 

Y/N made sure everyone had food and then pushed her own serving around her plate for a little while, her mind spinning. The suit itself and even Bones and his connection with FRIDAY should have been just another step in being an Avenger but it was giving Y/N pause. No one but Tony had an AI in their suit. Did Fury tell Tony to keep tabs on her? Did Bruce really want the information FRIDAY would supposedly provide? If that was true, wouldn’t he want to monitor Wanda as well? Her power far exceeded Y/N’s. 

Bucky, sitting across from Y/N, softly nugged her foot under the table. She lifted her head and glanced around to see who touched her and if they even knew they did it. Her eyes landed on Bucky who raised his eyebrows and mouthed  _ you okay?  _ Y/N smiled a half smile and nodded. Bucky frowned at her.  _ Later _ , Y/N mouthed. Bucky nodded and went back to eating and arguing with Sam.  

After dinner, Bucky found Y/N staring out of the windows in Tony’s massive library that hardly anyone ever used but Y/N. 

“Hey,” Bucky said as he walked up next to her. 

“Hey, Bucky,” Y/N replied, not taking her eyes off of the city lights glowing in the night. 

“What’s up?” Bucky asked, glancing down at her and marveling at the beauty of her face in the twinkling lights reflected in the window. 

Y/N took a breath and let it out. The urge to spill all of her thoughts won out over any trepidation she might have over talking it out with Bucky. He didn’t need her problems on top of his own, but he did ask. 

“My suit has its own AI, Tony named it Bones and I love it, but it talks to FRIDAY and reports back as long as I’m in range,” Y/N started. “I don’t know if Tony did that on his own because he and Bruce want to monitor my powers or if Fury made Tony do it because he wants to keep tabs on me. Or maybe Tony wants to keep tabs on me, I don’t know. But all of this has made me questioning even being here. No one else is monitored like I am and I don’t think I like it.”

“Wow, that’s a lot to get from one suit,” Bucky chuckled and wrapped his arm around Y/N’s shoulders. “Listen, I’m sure that Bruce’s motives are pure, he’s not really capable of anything else. Tony is a little more on the grey side but I’m sure he has your best interests at heart. And when was the last time Fury was able to force Tony to do anything?”

Y/N chuckled, “Yeah, that’s a valid point.”

“And I know that Bruce did monitor Wanda for a long time. FRIDAY too. But with everything Wanda has been through, she didn’t respond well to Tony’s methods and they decided to basically call a truce as long as Tony stopped monitoring her.”

“And I have,” Tony’s voice sounded from behind them. Y/N and Bucky jerked around, jaws hanging open because Tony had managed to sneak up on them. 

“Listen, Tony-” Bucky started until Tony cut him off with a wave of his hand. 

“No worries, Tin Man, you weren’t wrong,” Tony replied with a small grin. “Y/N, I have something for you.” 

Tony handed Y/N a small black box with an Iron Man emblem on the top. She lifted the top off and nestled in black velvet was a small silver cuff bracelet. She pulled it out and slipped it on her wrist, gasping when the clasp closed itself. 

“Wow,” Y/N whispered.

“This is your everyday interface with Bones. The clasp is biolocked so that only you can take it off,” Tony explained, showing her how to place her thumb onto the small release to take the bracelet off. “If anyone else tries to take if off of you, Bones will scan their fingerprint and send it to me along with your location. If your heart rate falls below a certain level, Bones will alert FRIDAY, as long as you’re in range. Those are the only reasons that Bones will talk to FRIDAY unless you direct him to. This isn’t like your suit that reports your vitals back to FRIDAY all the time. This is for you and only you.”

“And it’s got all of Bones?” Y/N questioned. 

“Yes ma’am,” Bones’ soft southern voice replied. “I’m all here.”

Y/N wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck. “Thank you, Tony. It’s perfect.”

Tony returned her hug and then quickly patted her on the head and wandered out of the library. 

“Does that help put some of your fears to rest?” Bucky asked, pulling Y/N onto a small couch with him to rest against his side, his arm landing around her shoulders again. 

“Yes,” Y/N replied, letting her fingers run over the bracelet. “And you’re right about Tony and Fury. I can’t imagine Tony obeying any kind of order he didn’t agree with. Thanks, Buck.” 

“Of course, doll,” Bucky replied, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “I’ll always be here for ya.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!

A lone, silver figure stood in the empty training room. All the weight training equipment had been moved to the side of the large room, making way for the wrestling mats that lined the open floor. Y/N stared at herself in the mirrored wall that ran the length of the room. She was completely silver as her power flowed through her. Her hair and eyes flashed, her suit had turned the same silver, she even thought her skin had a silver tint to it now. She looked entirely inhuman, entirely other, even to herself. Anywhere else in the world, she would have been shunned and feared for her power. Here, as an Avenger, she was accepted but there was still a twinge of doubt in the back of her mind that this wasn’t where she should be. That this wasn’t what she should be doing with her life.

“FRIDAY, will you please play some soothing music?” Y/N called out, needing to drown out what her ears kept picking up in the building. A soft piano tune lilted through the air.

Upstairs, Bucky stumbled out of his bed after being rocked awake by another nightmare, and decided to head to the gym to work off some of his anxiety. He threw on some sweats and an old t-shirt that had holes in it. No one else would be awake so there was certainly no need to dress up. The doors of the elevator opened on the training floor and he stepped into the gym and his sleepy, blurry vision immediately cleared. Y/N was staring at herself in the mirror. She was all “silvered up” as Sam called it but not moving. Her hair and eyes flashed as if something was happening but she was perfectly still. She didn’t appear to hear him enter the room so he cleared his throat loudly to get her attention over the sound of soft piano music. The last thing he wanted was to startle her and have her throw him across the room again.

“I heard you,” Y/N said softly over the music. If silver had a sound, her voice embodied it.

“I didn’t know if you did or not-” Bucky started, entering the room and walking toward her.

“No,” Y/N interrupted. “I heard you have a nightmare. I heard you wake up. I heard you come down here.”

“Are you following me?” Bucky smirked at her in the mirror.

“No, I was here the whole time,” Y/N turned her head toward Bucky, the silver slowly draining away from her eyes and hair. Her eyes had a pleading look in them.

“What else did you hear?” Bucky stepped closer to her, his own nightmare induced anxiety forgotten when he looked into her eyes.

“Everything. I heard Tony snoring in his lab. I heard Clint talking in his sleep. I even heard a fly outside the window. How is that possible, Bucky?” The silver had now completely drained away. Y/N turned back to the mirror and Bucky stepped behind her, his hands resting comfortingly on her small shoulders. He stood towering over her short frame.

“Almost every time my powers manifest, they bring something new to the game. This time, I heard everything in the building.”

“I thought you needed some kind of emotional reaction to silver out?” Bucky raised an eyebrow, wondering what Y/N had been thinking about. He hoped it was him.

“I do,” Y/N responded, still staring into her own eyes and missing the hope in Bucky’s face. “I couldn’t sleep so I decided to come down here and see if I could bring my power out by myself, just by thinking.”

“What were you thinking about?” Bucky questioned her, trying to not to hold his breath.

“I was thinking about being an Avenger, how I really feel about it, and about how I’m still so afraid of being myself and what my powers could do,” Y/N replied.

“Oh,” Bucky’s face fell.

“And about you.”

“Yeah?” he grinned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, plastering his front to her back. “What were you thinking about me?”

“I was thinking about how comfortable I am with you,” Y/N smiled at him in the mirror. “About how much I like being around you.”

“And how much is that?” Bucky snarked, not really expecting an answer.

“A lot,” Y/N’s soft reply made him catch his breath. He stared into her eyes through the mirror as his arms tightened around her. Without breaking eye contact, he turned his head slightly and gently kissed her hair.

“Back atcha, beautiful,” he replied, his voice soft and deep. Y/N’s hands came up and held onto his arms as they simply looked at each other in the mirror. They rocked gently to the music for a little while, enjoying the closeness of each other.

“Bucky?” Y/N whispered, not wanting to break the moment but needing to ask a question.

“Yeah, doll?”

“Is it okay that I’m a little afraid of my power?” Y/N asked, holding her breath as she waited for his answer.

“It’s completely okay, honey,” Bucky replied, turning her so that he could talk directly to her face. “You need to understand what you are capable of in order to control it and that can be very scary. Just know that you’re not alone here, please don’t be afraid to talk to me or anyone else about what you’re going through. Promise?”

“Promise,” Y/N replied with a smile. “Thanks, Buck.”

“Absolutely,” he replied, landing a quick kiss on her forehead. “Now, did you move all the weight equipment? I have a nightmare to work off,” Bucky jerked his head toward the weights moved to one side.

“No, it was already over there. I think Steve did it yesterday for some training today.”

“Speaking of that, you should probably try to sleep,” Bucky’s hands rubbed down her arms, aching to wrap around her and hold her close again.

“What about you?” Y/N’s eyes met his.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve slept enough for one night.” He gently turned her toward the door and gave her a slight push. “Go on now, shorty.”

“Shorty?” Y/N half turned back to him. “I’m only slightly below average height, ya know.”

“What’s your point?” he asked.

Y/N sighed, rolled her eyes dramatically,and turned back toward the door. “No point, goodnight Buck.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.” He watched her leave, trying to keep his eyes on her back and shoulders but they drifted lower. He sighed once she was out of sight. The need to protect her was so strong, even though her powers were getting stronger daily and she might not even need his protection soon. Bucky never fully trusted Fury with Steve so he certainly didn’t trust Fury with Y/N.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Looks like I will be packing my house, my cats, my dog, and my husband and moving to Central Texas in the next couple of months... so, I hope I will have time to finish this story before I have to move but I can't make any promises!

When Y/N walked into the kitchen the next morning, her eyes still blurry from sleep, the whole team was already around the table with coffee. Looking up at her, Bucky smiled and pushed the empty chair next to him out with his foot. Y/N sat and tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes.

“Having a meeting without me?” Y/N asked, still slightly groggy. Bucky pushed his still full cup of hot coffee in front of her. She lifted it and took a sip without even thinking. Across the table, Sam’s eyes narrowed and shifted back and forth between the two.

“We were talking, Y/N,” Steve began from one end of the table. “And we all think it’s time to bring you in.”

“In? As in, ‘in on the conversation’?” Y/N drank another sip of coffee, finally focusing on Steve.

“No, well, yes, but more ‘in’ as in ‘in on the next mission’.”

Fully awake now, Y/N eyes widened. “And when will that be?”

“We leave tomorrow morning. We could be gone for up a week.” Tony replied from the other end of the table.

“Where are we going?” Y/N questioned excitedly.

“London,” Nat said, her eyes twinkling with excitement. It didn’t matter much to her where they went, Natasha just loved going.

“What’s the objective?” Y/N asked, hoping that was the correct lingo.

“We will have a full mission briefing this afternoon.” Steve replied. “For now, let’s eat breakfast and get ourselves ready to go. Briefing is at 3pm and it’s Tony’s turn to cook dinner.”

The team collectively nodded and most stood to get some food. Y/N sat back in her chair, taking in what was happening. She was going on a mission. An actual mission. Her first mission. And not the “urgent and super secret” mission Thor gave her last month to secure more poptarts from “yon local market”.

“You okay, shortcake?” Sam’s voice drifted over from across the table, making Y/N jump in her chair, she hadn’t realized he was still sitting there.

“Yeah, Sam.” Y/N took a swig of the now mostly cool coffee. “I’m good thanks. I had better get myself together, catch you later, okay?”

“Sure.” Sam watched her stand and leave the kitchen before shaking his head and moving to get his breakfast. One of these days he was going to figure her out, get to know her better, he hoped sooner rather than later.

As Y/N slowly walked down the hallway, she was stopped by Tony’s voice calling her. Turning, she waited as he walked toward her.

“FRIDAY sent me her scans from your midnight walk last night.” He began, but before Y/N could begin to defend herself or question him, Tony continued. “Let’s go look them over with Banner, okay?”

“Sure, Tony,” Y/N responded confused, but she allowed him to lead her to Banner’s lab where FRIDAY already had the full body scans and other mind-boggling data pulled up on multiple screens. Bruce was staring hard, as if the screen held the secrets of the universe.

“Alright, what do we have here?” Tony tapped Bruce’s shoulder, getting his attention.

“Oh, hey guys.” Banner said, “FRIDAY’s got some good info for us. Y/N, whatever you were doing last night, it was the strongest I have ever seen your power. Your heart rate was unusually low for you, but everything else was elevated. What were you feeling right then?”

“I wasn’t feeling anything out of the ordinary. I was alone in the training room and I just wanted to see what I could do with no external stimulus. I closed my eyes, thought about some things, and when I opened my eyes I was silver. I didn’t feel any different but I could hear everything in the building. I heard Bucky having a nightmare, I heard Tony snoring in his lab, I even heard a fly outside the window!”

“I don’t snore,” Tony looked offended at the thought.

“Yeah, ya do,” Y/N smirked.

“That’s not something that has happened before, has it?” Banner asked. “I mean, you're hearing everything, not Tony’s snoring. That happens all the time.”

“No, super hearing is new. Although to be honest, I’ve never slowed down enough to really try to hear things. I’m usually just throwing trucks around,” Y/N shrugged.

“Well, based on this data, slowing down is what you need to do,” Bruce advised. “I still have some analyzing to do, but I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting.”

Y/N nodded, “I guess I should go get ready to go.”

Tony nodded. As Y/N left the lab, the men looked at each other and back to the screens. The power Y/N displayed in her “quiet moment” was enough to power the entire tower for a full day.

“What are you thinking?” Tony asked Bruce.

“I think I want to know exactly what she was thinking about,” Bruce began and pointed at the screen. “Look at this time stamp and the rise of power FRIDAY charted. It’s high but not near as high as a few minutes later when the power skyrocketed.” He pointed to the two separate readings.

“FRIDAY,” Tony called. “Bring up the video of the gym for these time stamps please.”

“Right away, boss,” FRIDAY replied. One of the screens blinked and showed two separate pictures. The left picture was the first time frame that Bruce mentioned where Y/N’s power was high, the right picture was the second time frame where her power shot through the roof. There was only one difference between the two pictures: Barnes.

“Huh,” Tony said, stroking his chin in thought. “If her power is brought on by emotion, what do you think she was feeling when Barnes walked in?”

“Anxiety?” Bruce suggested with a shrug. “But admittedly, that’s more my style.”

“No, my friend,” Tony slapped his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “I think it’s something more powerful than anxiety.”

* * *

 

Back in her room, Y/N tried to imagine what she would need for a week-long mission. Standing by her bed, she looked over at her closet and dresser and upon realizing that she had no clue what to do, she left to find Nat or Wanda for advice.

Nat was nowhere to be found and Wanda had apparently gone shopping, according to FRIDAY. So Y/N made her way to Steve’s room once she got confirmation from FRIDAY that that’s where he was. Arriving at his room, she found his door open and Bucky standing in the doorway, his back to her. Neither man heard her in the hallway.

“Steve, are you sure about this?” Bucky was asking.

“Yeah, Buck, I’m sure,” Steve’s voice came from inside the room. “I think it’s time that this happened. We’ve been waiting long enough and this shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Besides, you’ll be there and on the alert for anything out of the ordinary.”

“Why am I the one on alert?”

“Because you are most likely to know what to expect and when something’s wrong. And, I think there’s something else going on there.”

“You think so, do you, punk?” Bucky’s shirt stretched across his back as he folded his arms across his chest. Not a bad view but Y/N cleared her throat loudly before any more of the conversation could happen.

Bucky jumped back and met Y/N’s eyes with a slight blush at being caught talking about her.

“Hey, Y/N,” Steve called from inside his room. “Come on in, what’s up?”

Y/N stepped around Bucky and into Steve’s immaculate room and sat on the small couch. His room was a comfortable place, it was always clean and smelled nice. He had a sparse decorating style except for some of his drawings that Bucky made him frame and hang. It was a safe place.

“What can I do for you, Y/N?” Steve interrupted her thoughts.

“Oh, um, well, I realized that I don’t know what to bring with me. I was going to ask Nat or Wanda, but they are out right now. Got any advice?” Y/N asked quickly.

“Well, clothes for a week is a good start, but pack light. Your suit of course. Other... lady things you might need,” Steve shrugged awkwardly, making Y/N smile.

“Okay, so just normal stuff then?” Y/N asked.

“Sure, yeah, normal stuff. I should have just said that I guess. Also, check in with Tony, I think he said he had a couple more suits for you.”

“Okay, Steve,” Y/N hesitated. She glanced over at Bucky still leaning in the doorway, his eyes locked on her face.

“Anything else you need?” Steve pulled his desk chair over and sat in front of Y/N, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together. He knew enough about insecurity to recognize it. Being smaller than most everyone around you brought its own set of problems, as he well knew.

“What you guys were talking about, was it about me?” Y/N asked looking down at her hands, afraid to look at either man.

“Yes,” Steve replied instantly, honestly.

“You don’t think I should go, do you, Bucky?” Y/N still investigated her hands, afraid to look into his face. Disapproval from Steve Rogers was crushing enough, Y/N didn’t think she could take it from both men..

“That’s not it at all, Y/N. I’m just worried about you,” Bucky replied, moving to sit next to her on the small couch.

“If Bucky had his way, you would probably would be tower-bound for another year or so.” Steve chuckled. “But listen, I think you’re ready for this. Sometimes you just need to jump in the deep end and know you’re not swimming alone.”

Y/N smiled slightly at her hands and jumped a little when Bucky’s large flesh hand unexpectedly landed on hers.

“Y/N, look at me please.” Y/N looked up into his face. “I promise you that I will watch out for you. And Steve wouldn’t bring you on this mission if he wasn’t certain that you are ready. Do you trust me?”

“Yes, Bucky, I trust you.” Y/N smiled and squeezed his hand and looked back at Steve. “Thanks for the pep talk, Cap. See you at the briefing.”

Y/N hopped off his couch, threw a smile at Bucky, and left the room. Steve sighed and leaned back in his chair, hoping he was right about this mission and Y/N. 


	7. Chapter 7

**3pm Mission Briefing**

Steve passed out packets of information and the rustling of paper filled the room as everyone looked over their specified missions and pairings within the larger objective. Y/N wasn’t shocked by any of the partners listed until she came to her name. She had no partner or a mission specified.

Sam/Wanda: Surveillance of suspected HYDRA agent to discover location of hidden base in London underground  
Natasha/Clint: Interrogation  
Tony/Bruce: Computer analysis of HYDRA base  
Steve/Bucky: Infiltration and reconnaissance, general security  
Y/N: TBD

Steve stood, cleared his throat, and began going through the specifics of the mission. Y/N tried to wait patiently for him to get to her part. Thirty minutes later, he finally got there.

“Y/N, you’re not assigned a partner or mission because I’m going to have doing a little bit of everything to gain some experience and to help us find your strengths outside of your inhuman abilities.” Y/N nodded at Steve, her face serious as she considered what strengths might surface during this mission.

“Alright everyone, that’s about it. It’s pretty straight forward. Find the agent, find the base, shut it down with minimal damage. We leave tomorrow morning at 5am, be ready. Dismissed.”

The group slowly began to dissipate, each going to make their final preparations to leave. Sam pulled Y/N aside while everyone else filtered out of the room.

“Y/N, I just want you to know that you don’t have to worry, I’m going to watch out for you.” Sam looked deep in her eyes, needing her to know he was serious. Y/N thought he must be serious, he actually called her by name.

“Thank you, Sam.” Y/N replied, not really knowing what else to say. He nodded, patted her shoulder somewhat awkwardly and went off to polish his wings.

Y/N headed out of the room, only to be stopped short by Clint standing in front of her.

“Hey kid, listen,” he began, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I know you’ll be careful out there, but just know that Nat and I are going to watch out for you.”

“Thank you, Clint.” Y/N responded with a smile. “I’m a little nervous but I think everything will be fine.” WIth a nod, Clint moved down the hallway. Y/N turned toward her room to finish packing and was met by Bucky leaning against the wall by her door.

“Hey,” he said as she approached.

“Hey yourself,” Y/N responded with a smile, opening her door. Bucky stood in her doorway and simply stared at her for a second, seeming to struggle with his words like he did sometimes.

“You know,” he finally spoke hesitantly. “You know I’ve got your back, right?” he breathed out quickly.

“I know. Thanks, Buck.” Y/N replied softly. Watching him struggle with words always pulled a little at her heart. He simply nodded. “Do you want to come in while I finish packing?”

“Oh, no that’s okay, I’ve got some things to finish up too,” Bucky replied, still staring. When he remain silent, Y/N took a few steps toward him, concern wrinkling her brow.

“Are you okay, Bucky?” Y/N questioned softly.

“I umm,” Bucky whispered. He slowly reached out and took Y/N by the arms and pulled her close to his chest. “I ummm, I want to kiss you.”

Y/N grinned, “Well, what are you waiting for? I’m right here and not going anywhere.”

Bucky smiled and wrapped his flesh hand around the back of her neck and pulled her up to meet his lips. The kiss was soft and sweet and all too brief for Y/N’s liking. But it was Bucky and so it was perfect. He pulled back, opened his eyes and gasped. Y/N was completely silver.

“What?” Y/N asked and then started at the silver-tin sound of her own voice. She dashed to the mirror and gasped at herself. Bucky moved to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her breathing had picked up and he sensed her panic.

“Slow down, breath with me,” Bucky instructed as he took slow, even breaths. Y/N struggled for a moment but eventually got her breathing to match his. The silver slowly drained from her.

“What was that?” Y/N asked, holding on to Bucky’s arms still around her shoulders.

“I don’t know,” Bucky answered softly before he got a twinkle in his eyes. “Wanna try again?”

“I think once is enough for now,” Y/N smiled and pulled away from Bucky. “However, I might be up for more experimentation after we get back from this mission.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Bucky replied with a grin, pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear. “In the meantime, we better get ready to go.”

“Yep, we should,” Y/N agreed, just a little reluctant to let him go. Bucky was stronger though and he pulled himself away from her and walked through her still open door.

“Oh,” he said sticking his head back in her door, “Steve said to not forget to get an extra suit from Tony.”

“Oh yeah, I will.” Bucky nodded and left again.

Y/N took a steadying breath, tried not to replay that kiss too many times, and then headed to Tony’s lab. No music was blasting when she got there, but that didn’t mean Tony wasn’t there. Just as Y/N stepped through the door, Tony came around a corner.

“Oh there you are, kid. I have an extra suit for you,” Tony pointed to a box on his workbench.

“Great thanks, Tony.” Y/N replied, gathering the box in her arms.

“Listen,” Tony began as he sat on a stool and idly spun back and forth as if he hadn’t a care in the world, “don’t worry about anything out here, I’ll watch out for you. FRIDAY will to. And you have Bones.”

“Thanks Tony, I know I’m safe with the team and having Bones on board makes it all the better.” Y/N grinned. “Whatcha cooking for dinner? Isn’t it your night to cook?”

“Ha! Cook? Me?” Tony’s eyebrows lifted to his hairline. “FRIDAY, what’s cooking tonight?”

“You have prepared a lovely beef stew, Sir,” FRIDAY responded.

“See?” Tony said, pointing up at the ceiling. “Beef stew. FRIDAY makes the best.”

“I’m not even going to ask how FRIDAY cooks,” Y/N laughed, turning towards the door.

“Probably wise,” Tony mumbled before he turned back to tinkering with his latest Iron Man suit. He had a feeling that this mission was either going to cement Y/N as an Avenger or the opposite. He hoped for cementing but was prepared to find her a quiet corner of the world where she could always be safe should she chose to leave them. 


End file.
